Evelyn Emma
Dr. Williamson
ENGL 864
18 June 2014
Lateral Inheritances
At the actual ending of Mansfield Park, Tom Bertram is still Sir Thomas’s heir. This seemingly most important legacy/inheritance relationship is not interrupted (perhaps to Mary Crawford’s chagrin!). And seemingly it will not be a negative transaction, at least not on the order of Victor and the Creation because both Tom and Sir Thomas have been chastened by illness and scandal, so there is hope for a legacy that is useful and wholesome. However, it remains that the same inheritance structure with which the novel opens has not changed. To make sense of this, we must look at unconventional inheritances and inheritors in the novel, the women, who could only inherit on a limited basis at this time, younger sons (Edmund), etc.
Maria, because of her scandal, is disinherited. Not only does she materially lose her legacy, but she did not appropriate the inheritance Sir Thomas had wanted for her in terms of her character, for which Sir Thomas blames himself. He fails in passing on the values he wished her to inherit. Mrs. Norris, who had so long been wanted to be a sharer in Maria’s prospects, shares her fate. Mrs. Norris had been, in practical terms, a co-administrator of the Bertram household, a co-heir with Lady Bertram who loses her inheritance. She also has no legacy; not only is she not mourned at her death, but her connection with Maria will not give her a spiritual heir either because, presumably, Maria now will not marry nor have children. Both these women have neither inheritance nor legacy, and, particularly Maria, unrealized potential.
Edmund and Fanny are the most obvious inheritors of the legacy Sir Thomas wants to bestow. Edmund inherits as a younger son would materially, but he and Fanny also inherit the “improved” legacy an “improved” Sir Thomas has to offer. Fanny, especially, has experienced the most dramatic change in this regard. She does not inherit from her parents. Materially, they will not have much to pass on, and intellectually, or emotionally, they seem to have nothing to offer. From the status of a “hanger-on,” a ward, Fanny has been grafted in to the Bertram family tree, and since Edmund and she are married, she will help carry the Bertram name forward. Further, and perhaps most importantly, she also has the additional legacy to bestow on Susan and perhaps more of her siblings. Apart from her marriage to Edmund, she is already in process of creating lineage. Even if we credit Sir Thomas with granting this legacy of love and values to Fanny, it is her work by her own character that installs Susan at Mansfield Park. Sir Thomas’s legacy is handed laterally to his niece, who then, laterally, creates a female lineage, starting with her sister, while she still lives. Winnicott’s ideas on female creativity seem applicable here. Fanny isn’t an artist in the same way Corinne is, but she creates a center for the Bertram family, on which they come to depend, especially in times of hardship. She is also creating “offspring “ by mentoring Susan; this is creation in a very consequential form.
The contrast with Corinne is perhaps obvious. Fanny achieves much of her success by self-regulation. Though she loves Edmund, she is able to control these feelings and regulate her actions until circumstances changed. Because of this, she survives to create a living legacy, unlike Corinne, who cannot overcome her consuming grief over Oswald and dies. Corinne does seem to have an heir in Julia, but she will not have the opportunity to guide Julia as Fanny will Susan, or Edmund guided Fanny in the early days of their relationship.
Hemans and Austen seem to have much more in common in terms of the strength of the female in the domestic. Like “The Switzer’s Wife,” Fanny is the source of the change and inspiration in the Mansfield Park home, and it is in a very female way. It is not by a masculine coercion or overt strength that this is accomplished. Nowhere in the novel does Fanny’s influence extend beyond the domestic, yet, as her conversations with Sir Thomas about slavery indicate, there is the sense that her impact there may in the future have reverberations in a sphere beyond it.
Dr. Williamson
ENGL 864
18 June 2014
Lateral Inheritances
At the actual ending of Mansfield Park, Tom Bertram is still Sir Thomas’s heir. This seemingly most important legacy/inheritance relationship is not interrupted (perhaps to Mary Crawford’s chagrin!). And seemingly it will not be a negative transaction, at least not on the order of Victor and the Creation because both Tom and Sir Thomas have been chastened by illness and scandal, so there is hope for a legacy that is useful and wholesome. However, it remains that the same inheritance structure with which the novel opens has not changed. To make sense of this, we must look at unconventional inheritances and inheritors in the novel, the women, who could only inherit on a limited basis at this time, younger sons (Edmund), etc.
Maria, because of her scandal, is disinherited. Not only does she materially lose her legacy, but she did not appropriate the inheritance Sir Thomas had wanted for her in terms of her character, for which Sir Thomas blames himself. He fails in passing on the values he wished her to inherit. Mrs. Norris, who had so long been wanted to be a sharer in Maria’s prospects, shares her fate. Mrs. Norris had been, in practical terms, a co-administrator of the Bertram household, a co-heir with Lady Bertram who loses her inheritance. She also has no legacy; not only is she not mourned at her death, but her connection with Maria will not give her a spiritual heir either because, presumably, Maria now will not marry nor have children. Both these women have neither inheritance nor legacy, and, particularly Maria, unrealized potential.
Edmund and Fanny are the most obvious inheritors of the legacy Sir Thomas wants to bestow. Edmund inherits as a younger son would materially, but he and Fanny also inherit the “improved” legacy an “improved” Sir Thomas has to offer. Fanny, especially, has experienced the most dramatic change in this regard. She does not inherit from her parents. Materially, they will not have much to pass on, and intellectually, or emotionally, they seem to have nothing to offer. From the status of a “hanger-on,” a ward, Fanny has been grafted in to the Bertram family tree, and since Edmund and she are married, she will help carry the Bertram name forward. Further, and perhaps most importantly, she also has the additional legacy to bestow on Susan and perhaps more of her siblings. Apart from her marriage to Edmund, she is already in process of creating lineage. Even if we credit Sir Thomas with granting this legacy of love and values to Fanny, it is her work by her own character that installs Susan at Mansfield Park. Sir Thomas’s legacy is handed laterally to his niece, who then, laterally, creates a female lineage, starting with her sister, while she still lives. Winnicott’s ideas on female creativity seem applicable here. Fanny isn’t an artist in the same way Corinne is, but she creates a center for the Bertram family, on which they come to depend, especially in times of hardship. She is also creating “offspring “ by mentoring Susan; this is creation in a very consequential form.
The contrast with Corinne is perhaps obvious. Fanny achieves much of her success by self-regulation. Though she loves Edmund, she is able to control these feelings and regulate her actions until circumstances changed. Because of this, she survives to create a living legacy, unlike Corinne, who cannot overcome her consuming grief over Oswald and dies. Corinne does seem to have an heir in Julia, but she will not have the opportunity to guide Julia as Fanny will Susan, or Edmund guided Fanny in the early days of their relationship.
Hemans and Austen seem to have much more in common in terms of the strength of the female in the domestic. Like “The Switzer’s Wife,” Fanny is the source of the change and inspiration in the Mansfield Park home, and it is in a very female way. It is not by a masculine coercion or overt strength that this is accomplished. Nowhere in the novel does Fanny’s influence extend beyond the domestic, yet, as her conversations with Sir Thomas about slavery indicate, there is the sense that her impact there may in the future have reverberations in a sphere beyond it.